6 Tampa Bay pioneers honored

Tampa Bay honored 6 of its founding citizens Friday morning with busts on the Tampa Riverwalk.

The statues will join the dozen already lining the 2.5-mile waterfront promenade through downtown. The Historic Monument Trail captures important figures in Tampa Bay's history, from Native Americans to Spanish explorers to immigrants from Cuba and and modern-day philanthropists. Tampa Bay railroad baron Henry B. Plant and Ybor City founder Vicente Martinez-Ybor were early inductees.

"We are who we are because of these people," Buckhorn said, before removing black drapes from the six bronze statues.

The honorees include: African-American educator Blanche Armwood; Herman Glogowski, Tampa's first Jewish mayor; Gavino Gutierrez, the architect of Ybor City, one-time Cigar Capital of the World; Bena Wolf Maas, philanthropist, businesswoman and charter member of Tampa's first synagogue; Hugh Campbell MacFarland, cigar baron and founder of West Tampa; and Moses White, a black businessman and music promoter of brought the likes of Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and Etta James to perform in Tampa.

Their statues will be added to the Riverwalk, running from Channelside Bay Plaza to Ulele restaurant in the Tampa Heights neighborhood. The Riverwalk offers a pedestrian-friendly tour of Tampa Bay's waterfront, skyline and its history either on foot or -- by renting a bike from Coast Bike Share -- on two wheels.